5 Tips to Refresh Your Logo to Build a Better Brand

We all want to have a great logo that’s recognized by everyone and helps to grow our businesses. Here are 5 Tips to Refresh Your Logo to Build a Better Brand! Enjoy!

1.Do the work
Know your brand first. Take the time and do the work to figure out the bones of your business. Find a mentor or seek out small business counseling. You need to be clear about what products and/or services your business provides, whom (specifically) you’re selling those products/service to, where they are, how to find them, and on and on. Once you are clear about that THEN it’s time to create a logo.

2. Make the Investment.
Hire a Graphic Designer. Do it right the first time because time is money. A graphic designer knows how to create a logo that you and/or your business can own and that’s unique to your business.

You cannot do an internet search for an image, download it, add words to it and call it your logo. That’s stealing. A graphic designer either knows how to go through the proper channels to own or gain licensing for an image or they will create it themselves.

When your graphic designer asks you what you’d like, don’t say, “I don’t know, just use your creativity”. You will waste 4-10 hours of design time doing this and designer’s charge by the hour. If you do the work (#1) you should be able to give your designer a specific list of needs for your logo and that will cut your hourly costs tremendously.

Image Logos

3.Text vs. Image
An image logo is basically an icon or symbol that personifies your business. It must be memorable, easily recognizable, and portable. If I have to look at your logo sideways to figure out what it is then it needs to be redone. Consider the time it takes for you to scroll from the bottom of your screen to the top on facebook. I should be able to recognize your logo in that time period.

A text logo is called a wordmark and is basically the name of your business in a particular font or typestyle. The font that you choose will communicate a particular feeling or emotion, or recall something the client recognizes based on its style.

Text Logos or Wordmarks

Bonus tips:
-Your logo can be a combination of image and text
-Text logos can also be better for your SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
-Keep your font choices limited to 2.
-Don’t rely on the font alone. Give it some character to make it more memorable.

4. Portability

Your logo needs to be able to be seen in its original form no matter what way it’s being distributed – facebook, Instagram, your website, printed material, a t-shirt, a billboard, etc.

.jpeg/.jpg – Jpgs are great for digital media like websites and social media because they typically only require small file sizes. Keep in mind…the larger you stretch a jpg image on the computer or on printed materials the more pixelated it becomes.

.png – The benefit of using a .png file is transparency. You know how you upload an image somewhere and it shows up with a white background. A .png file removes the white background so it’s great for the web and printed materials. You also don’t lose image quality in larger files.

.pdf – Pdf’s mainly allow you to transfer and exchange documents on the web so in terms of logos and imagery you want to make sure to request a vector .pdf. Most printers will ask you for a .pdf file to make printed materials like brochures, flyers, etc.

.eps – An eps file is sort of a step up from a pdf file and is also mainly used for printing. One main benefit is that, like a png file, it’s transparent. It’s also a vector file which means it can expanded or stretched without losing image quality. In terms of logos, a t-shirt printer or someone who is printing on products will likely ask you for an .eps file.

Bonus tip:
-You also want to have your logo made in several different orientations – single line, stacked, image only, text only – that way you are prepared for any special requests made for your logo.

5. Keep it simple. Test the market.
Show others your logo and see how they respond. In my experience, when someone loves something they respond immediately, “Oh my God, I love it!” When they like it, the response is typically lackluster, “Eh, I like it. It’s ok”…that’s a guarantee that your logo is forgettable. When they don’t like it, they generally don’t respond at all…probably because they’re trying to think of a way to say something nice.

Also, ask those who don’t know what you do to look at your logo and take a guess a guess based off what they see and/or ask them how your logo makes them feel. It is what it is. Don’t rationalize or make excuses for how people respond to your logo. If you don’t get the response or reaction that you want then you need to go back to the drawing board. Your business will thank you later!